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Joe Johnson scored 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 112-99 victory over the slumping Detroit Pistons. The Hawks jumped on the Pistons early, and were able to withstand a late rally by the Pistons, who had dug themselves into too deep a hole to come out of.
Atlanta’s opening salvo featured assists on all of their 12 baskets in the first period, opening up a 30-12 lead. They wouldn’t let up in the second, shooting 15-for-18 in the period, and ending the half with a 28 point lead, 69-41.
The Pistons didn’t fold so easily, however, coming out of the half-time break with renewed energy going on a 10-1 run in the first 3 minutes of the 3rd period. Detroit outscored Atlanta 36-23 in the period, but were still down by 15, 92-77, entering the fourth quarter.
The Pistons continued fighting and were able to cut the lead into single digits for the first time in the game since the 7-minute mark of the first quarter on a basket by Ben Gordon with 6:48 to play, 96-87. But Atlanta wouldn’t let them back in the game, going on an 11-4 run to push the lead back up to 16 with 3:20 to play. After Jason Maxiell came out of a Pistons time out to make a basket, Crawford answered with a trey, and the Hawks started to pull their starters with a little over 2 minutes left.
Joe Johnson added 4 rebounds and 5 assists to his game-high 26. Josh Smith had a double double with 18 points and a career-high 11 assists, and added 4 rebounds, 5 steals and a block. Jamal Crawford led the Hawks bench with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including making all three of his three-point attempts, and adding 6 assists. Al Horford added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting as well, also contributing 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.
The Pistons also shot well, with a 49% clip, but in the end, couldn’t score enough to get them out of the Hawks’ huge lead. Jason Maxiell led the Pistons with a 19 point, 12 rebound performance, while Rip Hamilton added 18 points. Will Bynum had 16 points and 7 assists, a night after a career-high 20-assist game.
The Pistons’ schedule doesn’t get easier, and face the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers next. They can only hope to finish the season on a high note, but that’s not going to be easy.
Atlanta, on the other hand, has the league-worst New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors next – two teams not known for great defense. Atlanta could use a win streak now to push them decidedly past Boston, and entrench themselves in the number 3 seed.
GAME NOTES:
- Atlanta set its highest field goal percentage in a quarter with a 83.3% performance in the second quarter, and in a half (73.0% in the first half) this season. The Hawks finished the game with a 63% clip from the field.
- Atlanta moved by a half-game ahead of Boston for the East’s number 3 spot.
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